July 26, 2013

Eagle Twin - The Feather Tipped The Serpent's Scale

Review by Aaron Sullivan.

Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah comes the Sludgy behemoth known as Eagle Twin. My first exposure to this band was when they opened for Sunn O))) on their Grimmrobe Anniversary Tour in 2008. At that time I knew nothing of them and their first album was still a year away from coming out. This two piece consisting of guitar and drum took the stage and jaws dropped. I know many walked away, just as I did, anticipating an album from Eagle Twin. When The Unkindness of Crows came out it blew me away. The Feather That Tipped The Serpent’s Scale did the same completely avoiding the sophomore slump.

A little background to the first album as it ties into the second. The first album dealt with crows as creatures of myth and power. Inspired by the book Crow from author Ted Hughes. And as it says on their Bandcamp page,

In this installment the crows documented in the first album have battled the sun and were burned back down to earth as black snakes, the concept of the album continuing mainly on the snake and its various mythic and symbolic incarnations. Ultimately the great ancestral snake is transformed from its lowly beginnings back into a bird soaring upon the thermals.

Pretty heady stuff for a Sludge band. But they pull it off brilliantly.

If forced to fit Eagle Twin into a genre Sludge works best. But elements of DOOM and Drone make their presence known throughout the record. Guitars are overbearing in tone and sloth like in pace. The drums are not just there to keep a beat. They also serve to fill in a lot of the open spaces left when only having two instruments. The vocals are also something that set them apart, at least from other Sludge. Gentry’s vocals are very reminiscent of Tom Waits with his gravelly delivery that fit the music so well. Overall there’s a spiritual or ritualistic feel to Eagle Twins music, much in the same way OM’s albums feel. Perhaps a bit darker though.

As said before. I was blown away by them the first time I heard them and have been with each release. A band that touches on all things I enjoy, not only about Metal, but music in general. If this is something you enjoy I highly recommend getting their first album as well. And since Southern Lord for some reason has not put it on their Bandcamp. Do your due diligence and email Mr. Anderson and beg, plead, and otherwise annoy him until it is on Bandcamp.

Being relative newcomers to Bandcamp world, I imagine Southern Lord hasn't gotten to it and/or hasn't decided how to prioritize it. Asking them for it is a good way to help, though. If they know there's interest, maybe they'll fast track putting it up.